


A Twist of Fate

by trickster_grrrl



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Heavy Angst, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2019-05-15 04:37:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14783711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trickster_grrrl/pseuds/trickster_grrrl
Summary: While traveling alone in the TARDIS through a patch of Deep Space, he comes across an odd (and extremely lucky) piece of space debris, carrying grim news.Now the whole Universe is in danger, and the Doctor and his new, temporary Companion might be the missing heroes who save it.





	1. Chapter One (Part 1)

**Author's Note:**

> Don't mind me, I'm still in denial.   
> If you like the fic, comment! Comments make me a happy, and more productive writer!   
> I'm not going to update this until I can get my hands on a copy of the film though, so it might be a while. But I still wanted to get this written because this idea has been bugging me for weeks.   
> Super special thanks to all of the people who helped me edit this! It is at least ten times better than what I had originally written.

_ In the darkness, Loki feels himself smile. Which is odd since he shouldn’t have a body. The final images of Thanos, his brother Thor, and the destroyed ship full of refugee corpses begin to fade from his mind.  _

_ Time stops having meaning. He can’t tell if he’s been in that darkness for a moment, a year, or a lifetime.  _

_ Until…. _

_ His feet touch down on something solid. A gentle breeze kisses his face ad plays with his hair. He turns his head towards it, and opens his eyes.  _

_ A beam of beautiful golden light parts the darkness like a curtain. It falls on Loki’s face, his body, his hands. It warms him to the bone. He takes a deep breath, and it feels like the first breath after a long dive to the bottom of an ocean.  _

_ Slowly he takes a step forward. Then another. As if the light is pulling him towards it.  _

_ As he nears, he stops, his heart beating heavily in his chest. He reaches out towards the split in the darkness, but hesitates. In the back of his mind a voice whispers, This is it. He feels it, in the very core of his being, he knew what this is.  _

_ Valhalla.  _

_ His stomach twisting itself into knots, he steps through the curtain and into the brilliant, warm light, every fear still lingering from his horrible death evaporating.  _

_ He steps out onto a field. Knee-high stalks of wheat and rye stretch out across rolling hills beneath a cloudless, eternal sky. A setting sun, forever hovering just above the horizon, warms everything with its golden rays.  _

_ But the only thing Loki can stare at is the figure standing before him.  _

_ Frigga, fallen Queen of Asgard. She stretches out her arms, a familiar smile on her ageless, kind face. Loki feels like someone has reached inside his chest and is squeezing his heart. He can't breathe. He can't move.  _

_ “Hello, my son.”  _

_ Loki breaks.  _

_ He stumbles forward, his eyes wide. This couldn’t be real. This has to be a dream. He reaches forward, and his hand brushes the silk of her dress. Solid. She was there. She was really there.  _

_ Loki opens his mouth, his tongue and heart heavy with all of the things he wanted to tell her, all of the things he wishes he can take back, but the only thing that pushes its way out is a sob.  _

_ He throws his arms around her, hands shaking, desperately grasping her to him.  _

_ The pain, remorse, and loneliness that he has shouldered for the past several years all crash over him like a tidal wave as the last of his resolve, the stone cold strength that has kept him going, shatters into a million pieces.  _

_ Sobs rake through him, ripping his heart to shreds.  _

_ But through all of the gasps and the tears he is able to force out two words, over and over again.  _

_ “I’m sorry!” he whispers, pressing his face into her shoulder. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”  _

_ Frigga holds him tight, shushing him, attempting to stop the flow of tears, but all Loki can do is crumpling in, finally giving in to all of the grief he has been hiding behind lies and smiles.  _

_ “I’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorry-” His body shakes, his hands cold and his heart burning. Because it is all his fault. All of it. He killed her. It is his fault.  _

_ How can he ever expect forgiveness?  _

_ A delicate hand comes up, strokes his hair, while the other rubs gentle lines up and down his back.  _

_ “Oh Loki,” Frigga sighs, holding her son tight like she used to. “It’s alright. Everything’s going to be alright.”  _

_ Loki shakes his head, sobs still ripping out of him like knives. He can't speak anymore, just gasp and cry and hold onto her.  _

_ “It wasn’t your fault,” Frigga says, her voice gentle but firm. “None of it was your fault.” She lets him hold onto her for a little bit longer before slowly prying him off so she can look at him. Her hands comes up and holds his cheeks, wiping the hot trails of tears away. Loki sniffs, gasping, but swallowing back more sobs.  _

_ “Listen to me, Loki,” she says. “You are my son, and you always have been. Nothing you ever said or did changed that.”  _

_ Loki clenches his jaw, self hatred burning inside of him. “I led Kurse to you-”  _

_ “Stop it,” she orders. “You did not kill me. However, I know how stubborn you are, when you’ve made up your mind about something.” She smiles, and it is almost enough to make Loki smile too. “So, I forgive you. No matter what you ever said or did or could ever do, I forgive you.”  _

_ Loki bites down hard on his lip to try and contain the fresh assault of sobs making through way up his throat. Frigga pulls him quickly forward into another embrace.  _

_ “I am so proud of you,” she says. Loki presses his face into her shoulder again, in an attempt to stifle the tears. “I am so proud of everything you’ve done. You saved your brother, and your people. You have more than proven yourself worthy to be King. I am so proud to call you my son.”  _

_ Loki stays like that for a long time, allowing all of the pain and misery and brokenness he had been harboring to all come undone, like a storm erupting.  _

_ Because everything is alright now. He is in Valhalla, with his mother.  _

_ No more war. No more Thanos. No more torture, or death.  _

_ Just peace. At last.  _

_ “I’ve missed you so much,” he whimpers.  _

_ “I know. I’m sorry. But I was never too far away. I’ve been watching over you.” Slowly, she pulls away, taking his hands in hers. “I will always watch over you.”  _

_ “You will now,” Loki says. “We’re finally here. We’re in Valhalla. We’re together-”  _

_ Frigga turns her face up towards him, stopping Loki’s words. There are tears in her eyes.  _

_ Loki furrows his brow, squeezing her hands.  _

_ “What is it?”  _

_ Frigga gives him another smile, but this one is wrong. It is tainted with a hidden sadness.  _

_ “I am sorry,” she whispers. “But… it is not your time yet.”  _

_ Loki’s stomach twists into knots. His heart plummets. He holds onto her hands tightly, as if letting her go would make her turn into dust before him.  _

_ “What do you mean? I-I’m here, now. I’m in Valhalla, I’m done! I’m finished with the fighting and the war and the fear and-”  _

_ Tears begin to burn his eyes once again, his body trembling.  _

_ “Please don’t make me go,” he cries. “I don’t want to leave you!”  _

_ Frigga reaches up and tucks a lock of raven hair behind his ear, her own eyes shining with tears.  _

_ “I will still be here, Loki, waiting for you. But you are needed in the fight that is approaching.”  _

_ Loki shakes his head desperately. No. No more fighting. “Please,” he whimpered.  _

_ All around them, the golden field and the sky begins to grow dark. Tendrils of shadow creeps along the edges of Loki’s vision, like fingers grasping and hoping to strangle him.  _

_ “No,” Loki cries through clenched teeth. He can feel himself starting to fall backwards. Back into the darkness. Frigga’s face remains before him, but even that has begun to fade.  _

_ He holds onto her as tightly as he can.  _

_ “No, please!”  _

_ “I love you, Loki,” her voice echoed, as if from far off. “My son….”  _

_ “No! Mother, please!”  _

_ He falls back, and back, and back….  _

 


	2. Chapter One (Part 2)

Alone in the TARDIS console room, hours, days, or weeks could pass by and the Doctor would not even notice, a thousand years of knowledge, history, and trauma swimming freely through his mind. 

For a moment, the Universe was silent. Peaceful. The TARDIS drifted lazily across an empty stretch of deep Space, far from any planet, asteroid, or space station. It was at times like this that  the Doctor became more of the recluse he was known to be: appearing in time to save a civilization, then disappearing into shadow and stardust, a mere legend whispered on the winds of history. 

Sometimes he enjoyed the solitude, but in odd moments he would remember the words of a past Companion, the memory of whom will always hold a deep ache in his chest whenever she fought her way to the surface of his thoughts, stubborn as always. 

_ “Promise me one thing, Doctor.”  _

_ “What?”  _

_ “That you’ll find somebody.”  _

_ “I don’t need anybody.”  _

_ “Yes you do….”  _

The Doctor leaned against the railing that encircled the control platform of the TARDIS. He propped his chin in his hand and mulled over her words. Donna Noble, the most important woman in the Universe, still looking after him through his memories. The thought almost made him smile, almost gave him some comfort. 

Suddenly, the TARDIS alarm system screamed, sirens echoing throughout the ship, making the Time Lord’s twin hearts jump in his chest. The Doctor jolted out of his thoughts, his mind scrambling for a distraction from his grief. 

Springing into action, he crossed the glass platform in three short bounds of his long legs and pulled up the console screen. 

Security footage showed an infrared scan of the empty space surrounding the TARDIS within 100 yards of the front doors. The Doctor checked the alert status, flashing bright red in the bottom right corner of the screen: SPACE DEBRIS APPROACHING

He typed in a command to center the screen on whatever space debris was encroaching . It was probably just a broken piece of spaceship, a hunk of metal or something…. 

But as the screen zoomed in further and further on the strange object that was floating lazily through the vacuum of space, the Doctor leaned in closer and closer, until his nose was just an inch from the screen. His hearts plummeted to the pit of his stomach. 

No. That…. That looked like…. 

He raced around the controls, hands flying and fingers typing as quickly as he could make them. Because that space debris definitely wasn’t just a forgotten piece of metal, not unless they’d begun to make parts  _ shaped like people. _

The Doctor acted fast. He opened up an air corridor and set the gravitational field surrounding the TARDIS to lock onto the drifting body. He dashed towards the front doors and threw them open as the body glided towards the TARDIS. Even from this distance the Doctor could see that whoever it had been, they had been through something horrible. An attack perhaps? Their ship ambushed and destroyed? He’d gotten no readings of any ships in this area, but perhaps this poor soul had been set adrift for a while.

The Doctor reached out and grabbed hold of the person’s arm, guiding their body gently into the TARDIS and laying them onto the floor. 

But whatever the Doctor was expecting, this was not it. 

Long raven hair clung to pale skin. Sharp cuts and gashes riddled a handsome face. A ring of dark purple bruises around his neck made the Doctor’s stomach twist. His armor, though, was what caught the Doctor’s attention. It was Asgardian in design and extremely ornamental. A member of the royal family? He hadn’t been to Asgard in an age, so he did not recognize the man’s face, but perhaps the Odin family had grown since his last visit.

The Doctor kneeled down beside the poor man, bringing out his sonic screwdriver and setting it to detect any signs of life. 

The blue tip of the sonic lit up as the Doctor scanned the body, but when he expected to find no readings, the sonic reported something very different, and very surprising. 

The Doctor pressed his hand to the side of the man’s throat, just above the harsh necklace of bruises. He waited for several seconds, holding his breath, his brow furrowed. 

There! So slight, so weak, but there it was! The flutter of a pulse, just beneath his fingertips. 

The Doctor sat back on his heels, his mind racing. What was a member of the Asgardian royal family doing drifting out in empty space? How were they still alive after drifting out there for so long? What had happened to them? 

All of these questions and more plagued his thoughts, but he pushed them all aside to focus on the most important factor at the moment: this man was barely clinging to Life, and the Doctor was not going to just sit there and watch him pass away. 

With a grunt and a lot of cursing under his breath, the Doctor managed to hook one of the man’s arms around his shoulders and half-drag, half-carry him all the way into the medical bay of the TARDIS. 

Compared to the rest of the haphazardly organized ship, the MedBay was jarringly pristine. The Doctor dragged the man across the smooth tiled floor to one of two medical bed-pods located on opposite walls. The cylindrical cot, attached to the wall by its head, suspending it several feet off the ground, opened with a gentle hiss. The plexiglass shield that encircled the top glided back to allow the Doctor to lay the body down on the bed. 

Finally free of the weight across his shoulders, the Doctor pulled up the MedBay’s interface, activating the Cot the Asgardian now lay in. The glass top to the bed closed with another gentle hiss and a click, encasing the man’s body. As the Cot came online, the glass screen displayed statistics and data as the automated medical bed took the man’s vitals. His heart rate was weak, but still there. 

Examining the data displayed, the Doctor deduced that the man seemed to be in some sort of self-induced natural cryogenic stasis, resulting in the low heartbeat and minimal brain activity, similar to a coma patient. 

The Cot also zoomed in on the large bruises around his neck, examining them, and finally diagnosing them as abnormally large fingerprints. 

So. Strangled, then set adrift in deep space? It really was a miracle he was still alive. 

Other than the fingerprints, the man had several fractured ribs, burns, contusions, and a minor concussion. 

The Doctor typed in a command into the MedBay’s interface, and a cloud of glittering gold entered the Cot. 

The Nanogenes set to work, closing the wounds and setting the bones of the broken man, working their way up until the cloud encompassed his head, erasing any signs of injury. 

As the Nanogenes dispersed, their work done, the man’s chest rose with a firm intake of breath. His heart rate increased to a more normal speed, as did his brain activity. The Doctor leaned over the glass, watching the man’s eyelids flicker as he began to come to consciousness. 

Then, with a sharp gasp, the man’s eyes flew open, and he shot straight upright in the Cot… immediately banging his head on the shield over him.

The Doctor winced and quickly opened the Cot, the glass shield hissing back once again. 

“Sorry ‘bout that,” said the Doctor. “Are you okay?” 

The man sat up and looked around, his body tense, his green eyes wide and constantly shifting around the room. The Doctor recognized the battle-induced hysteria in his gaze and backed up a few steps, holding his hands up in a submissive gesture. 

“Easy. You’re safe now. I’m not going to hurt you.” 

After several seconds of examining the room and the Doctor, the man finally spoke. 

“Who are you? Where am I?” he croaked in a hoarse voice. 

“My name’s the Doctor. I found you- well my ship found you. You were lost, set adrift in space. But it’s okay, you’ll be fine now.” 

The man tried to stand, but his body was still recovering. His knees buckled and he had to brace himself against the Cot to keep from falling. He stared at a spot on the floor, a distant look in his eyes, before hissing, “I was on a ship. We were attacked. We….” 

He fell back into silence, face paling and hands curling into fists. The Doctor took a hesitant step forward. 

“What happened? Maybe I can help. But first you need to take it easy.” 

The man turned his gaze back to the Doctor and narrowed his eyes. The Doctor saw him putting up mental walls, closing himself off. 

The Doctor lowered his hands to his sides. “What’s your name?” he asked, keeping his voice soft. 

But the man only glared at him, his lips pressed tightly together. 

The Doctor sighed. “Alright, well, I can’t help you unless you give me something,  _ Asgardian _ .” 

The sudden declaration of identity seemed to have caught the man off guard. He opened his mouth, about to speak, before quickly catching himself and closing it again. After a few more seconds, he quietly asked, “What do you want?” 

“Just a name,” the Doctor said. “I promise, I just want to help you. Going by that armor, I’d say you are from Asgard. Am I correct?” 

A sudden wave of sorrow passed behind the man’s eyes and he looked down. “Yes,” he murmured. 

“And that armor is fairly ornamental. I’d say it’s  _ royal _ .” 

The man closed his eyes and sighed. “Yes.” 

“So… either you’re a thief-” the man snapped his gaze back at the Doctor, and if looks could  _ kill _ “-or you’re part of the royal family. Which is it?” 

The man flexed his jaw, still glaring at the Doctor, who returned his gaze without flinching. 

“What do you know of Asgard and the royal family?” 

“I was on Asgard some time ago, as a friend of Odin’s.” 

The man flinched but the Doctor wasn’t certain if it was from the name or from the pain. 

“Odin,” he murmured, his expression briefly betraying emotions battling inside of him. “Then… perhaps I  _ can _ trust you. I seem to have no other option at this point.” He looked around the MedBay once again and pressed a hand to his neck, tracing the spot where the pattern of bruises had been. 

Finally, he turned to the Doctor, straightening himself up as much as he could. He raised his chin and stated, “I am Loki, of Asgard.” 

The Doctor’s eyes widened and his jaw went slack. “Loki? As in, God of Mischief?  _ That  _ Loki?” 

The corners of Loki’s lips turned up in a slight smirk. “Yes. The one and only.” 

“Wow. I must admit, I am a big fan. Well, not a  _ big  _ fan. Still, gotta appreciate the work of a fellow Trickster and mischief-maker.” The Doctor flashed him a friendly smirk. 

“How do you know my father?” Loki asked. 

“Oh, I helped Odin seal a certain ancient artifact away, some time ago.” 

Loki slowly nodded as despair settled over him once again, weighing his whole body down. 

“Loki, what happened?” the Doctor asked. “Did something happen to Asgard?” Was this it? Was this when….

Loki swallowed. He took a deep breath before stating, “Asgard has been destroyed.” 

The Doctor slipped his hands into his pockets, his twin hearts breaking. So this was it. 

Ragnarok. The Destruction of Asgard: Fixed point in history. Led to the building of New Asgard/Asgardia, by Thor Odinson and Loki, bringing about an era of peace and- 

“Hang on,” the Doctor suddenly said. “What were you doing drifting out in the middle of Space? You’re supposed to be with your brother and the last of the Asgardians.” 

A dark cloud passed behind Loki’s eyes, and his whole body tensed. 

“We were attacked,” he said. 

“Attacked? By who?” 

Loki hesitated before slowly saying, “A mad Titan, named-” 

“Thanos.” 

The name fell from the Doctor’s lips at the same time as Loki’s. Loki looked at the Doctor and nodded. The Doctor’s hearts plummeted to somewhere around his shoes as the name, whispered in fear throughout many galaxies, echoed like a death toll in his mind. 

No. It couldn’t be…..

“He attacked us,” Loki continued. “He…. He  _ slaughtered _ my people. Then he tried to….” Loki’s hand returned to his neck, fingers trembling. 

“Why would he attack you?” the Doctor asked, his voice hushed, attempting to keep the hysteria contained. 

“Because he wanted something. A relic from Asgard.” 

The Doctor’s eyes widened as fear made his whole body cold. 

No. 

“Loki,” the Doctor stated. “Now, this is very important:  _ what  _ was Thanos looking for,  _ exactly _ ?” 

Loki fell silent. His eyes glazed over for a few moments, staring at nothing a thousand miles away. “The Tesseract.” 

That was it. The Doctor’s grip on his fear shattered. He dragged a hand through his hair, his mind racing. 

This was not good. This was not good, this was not good, this _was_ _not good_. 

“Space Stone,” he whispered. One of the five Infinity Stones. If Thanos was after them…. 

“Loki,” he said, forcing his fear to take a back seat as his mind jumped into action. “I am sorry. Truly, I am. I know what it’s like to lose everything. But right now, we don’t have time for grief. We need to stop Thanos.” 

“We?” Loki asked, staring at the Doctor. “You’re going to help me? Why?” 

The Doctor shrugged, forcing a smile onto his face. “Well, I’m not a big fan of genocidal maniacs. You know, just on principle. Also, saving the Universe? Kind of my thing.” 

He flashed Loki another crooked smile, which the Trickster half-heartedly returned, a glimmer of fiery mischief returning to his eyes beneath the layers of pain and sorrow. 

“Come on then. Allons-y!” With a shout the Doctor raced out of the MedBay, back to the control room. 

Because if the Doctor’s hunch was correct, and he honestly hoped that it wasn’t, everyone, every single living creature in the Universe, was in grave danger. 

So what else was new? 

 


End file.
